Unlikely Meetings
by Lady Snape2
Summary: One shot depicting meetings of two people, where one ends up helping the other. SSOC(unamed)


Unlikely Meetings  
By Lady Snape  


  


Pat-a-tat...tat-a-tat...rat-a-tat.... 

Rain lit into the windows and roof tiles...insistently, like a drum pulsating against my mind. Pacing, I trace and re-trace my steps over the smoothed with age wooden floor, the crackle of the fire barely registering in my consciousness. Through the soft glow of a solitary red candle....the silvery flicker of a large shallow basin danced among the golden light that permeated the room. Prismatic points of light scurried over ceiling and wall beckoning her to seek out their source...mesmerizing her as she paced ever nearer to the low table. 

Dropping to her knees before the table, she rested her chin in her hands as she stared lost in thought, her eyes drifting over the silvery liquid coming to rest on the candle. Her pupils dilated as she considered what she needed to do, becoming hypnotized by the seeming undulation of the flame engravings on the candle. _Dare I try to remember..._ Her mind questioned as she sat hovering over the basin, her finger absentmindedly tracing the runes surrounding its edge. Her gaze unfocused and roaming, she watched the chaotic eddies and miniscule swirls course across the liquefied mirror. A mirror of the mind...her mind. 

Her emotions ran like the tides, rising high on the crest of the rushing wave, pulled along as though defying gravity to reach the moon. Her call undeniable, as she followed her course, tugging...slipping back...letting everything fall low...resting until it's time. 

Tappity...tap...tappity...tap...shiieeoo....The rain laden wind blew the droplets sideways against the glass panes...Snap...hiss...pop...logs burst and shifted in the grate as the woman sat still in the otherwise quiet room. 

Closing her eyes, she found focus as with resignation she let her fingers skim the surface of the liquid, drawing her tumbling into the pensieve to land softly alongside her memory self. 

She watched as her doppelganger self plodded along book laden shelves, aimlessly looking for something to peak her interest. Her hand trailing over the spines of tomes of all sizes, she halfheartedly read the titles, yanking books at random skimming them before replacing them back on the shelf, not yet satisfied with what she had found. Slowly she found herself following her counterpart until she was drifting into a darker section of the library, candlelight barely able to suffuse this area with light. The fine hairs on the nape of her neck began to prickle with anticipation as she watched herself reaching for yet another book..._This is it..._

High tide... 

"That one isn't really worth the parchment it is written on..." a deep voice drifted from the shadows startling her other self, causing her to drop the book clumsily. 

"Excuse me?" she heard herself say in a nervous whisper, "I'm sorry...I...uh...didn't see you" 

"No matter, it is of little consequence..." he murmured as he bent down retrieving the odd book and re-shelving it. Tapping the spine of the book he continued, "I've read this one, let me save you the trouble, the plot is factitious drivel that will put you to sleep....Unless of course.." turning to eye her, "that is what you are after?" 

I watched as the other me stumble over her words, reliving the intensity of gentleman's gaze. 

"No, actually..."she whispered as she fidgeted with her hands, "I was just perusing books to find something that might hold my interest for longer that the title...," she heard herself say with a laugh. 

"Hmm..." quirking an eyebrow, the man muttered "Well this particular book, "pointing the aforementioned tome, "is chock full of lies, completely unrealistic...utter rubbish...come to think of it I should sue for slander..." a slight smirk on his lips as he turned a thoughtful glance at the row of books. With a nod of his head he turned retreating back into the shadows, leaving a bewildered girl in his wake. 

She watched as the expression on her image's face creased in thought, as her eyes followed the path of the departing stranger. She could read herself as if she was a book from one of the shelves as the decision became clear on the other's face. She recognized a glint in her own pale blue eyes as she watched herself speed after the dark interloper. As though connected by a 'mobilicorpus' by a tow rope, she felt herself gliding behind her twin, hurrying in the direction of the dark gentleman. 

Low tide... 

Instead of catching up with him, she found herself drifting through a hazy fog coming to a halt at the edge of a scarred and warped wooden bar. Looking about, she spied her memory sitting along its length, alone, a half empty glass of clear liquid held loosely in her hand. Moving closer...the despair washed over her at the memory of why she was alone, she had made a fool of herself in the library, following that man. Now, she watched as she slowly drank her vodka tonic to rid herself of that feeling, wishing to feel alive. 

"What do we have here...?" She heard that voice again...speaking quietly in her ear. 

No tide...a lull... 

Turning slightly, she smiled...as she looked up into the eyes that had started her heart pulsing. 

"Hello...," she quietly returned while gesturing to the seat next to her, "Care to join me?" 

Giving her a slight nod, the dark haired gentleman lowered himself onto the proffered barstool. Motioning to the barkeep, the newcomer ordered himself a glass of Merlot, sitting quietly in thought while he waited for it. 

Unsure whether to interrupt his silence, she watched herself get that look of devil may care just before she opened her mouth. 

"You came...why?" she asked quietly. 

"Because drama is cheap." He deadpanned in return while arching his brow. 

She watched herself nearly choke on her cocktail at that remark, coughing slightly before she took another swallow of her drink, to which he showed slight concern by patting her alter self lightly on the back. She managed to collect herself, taking a deep breath followed by slow sip of her drink while looking from him to around the bar, her eyes wandering over laughing and happy groups of people. Returning her gaze to him she nodded in assent, "Yes drama is...but in the case of the other patrons, it makes them feel alive and who wouldn't want that feeling?" she queried with a slight smile as she finished her drink. 

Throwing a few sickles on the counter, she watched them as they rolled and clinked against the myriad of empty glasses that she had left as she stood shakily on her feet. The scene unfurled before her as she continued to observe as the gentleman stood grasping her mirror's elbow and as she tried to shirk his hold. 

"Be still, let me assist you.." she heard him say firmly, "You seem to be in no condition to..." 

"Dear Sir," she replied in a forced solemn face, "Frailty is in the eye of the beholder..." she finished in a fit of giggles unable to continue the serious facade. With a sigh of surrender, she leaned into his shoulder as he guided her out of the pub, the door fading into mist as yet once again she felt her conscience pulled to the next memory. 

High tide...the waters rush in. 

"Then desist, unless you want it to get any worse." He murmured into her ear. 

"No...."she sighed, turning her face away into her arm that was pulled taut above her head and held fast at her wrists. 

She now had been pulled into her most recent addition to the pensieve...the activities of earlier that evening. She stood off to the side and took in the surroundings, she was back in the parlor, the fire fresh and burning high in the grate. There she was, bound against the mantle her legs spread wide, her clothes seeming to melt off of her body. She heard him muttering a charm and watched as another piece of her clothes would split with an audible hissing tear and slide from her. Her skin on the back of her legs was turning a bright red from the heat of the fire behind her, her legs becoming shiny with beads of sweat. 

"Say it..." he commanded her, "What is it you need to feel?" 

She watched as she shook her head 'No' and he continued to sever her clothes from her body piece by piece, removing the slight barrier protecting her from the blaze that licked the stones of the fireplace. She had lifted her eyes to stare into his, imploring him to continue, shivering in the contrasting temperatures of her body. Her fingers were numb and cold from the lack of circulation, while her feet and legs were heavy and hot with the mad rush of heated blood that raced through her arteries and veins...bursting capillaries where her skin was hottest. 

Snap...pop...a glowing ember shot from within the flames searing the soft flesh of her inner thigh, eliciting a hoarse cry from her. 

"Alive!" 

Her bonds melted away...her body collapsed in a heap over the remnants of her clothes as the red flamed candle flared to life. Without seeing she could feel the cool sensation that felt like ice, as the slimy tingling goo was smeared over her backside. She could hear the hisses she made with each addition of ointment. She kept her eyes on the wraith man, as she saw him flicker away briefly, as the memory slipped away. 

Low tide.....quiet calm. 

As if thrown from a catapult she felt herself hurled from the basin landing haphazardly on the floor beside it. Lifting her head up she found she was alone...it worked just like he said. No recriminations, no strings, the key word saw to that. Alive. She had needed to feel alive, desperately so, he gave her that. 

Sitting quietly, she stared at the basin, a slight smile on her face. _Thank you, Severus Snape, thank you very much._

------------------------------------- Author's Notes ----------------------------------------

Inspired by a challenge from a past group. 

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End file.
